Businessman and philanthropist Milton Hershey founded the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894. He supplied chocolates for the U.S. troops during WWII. They were called Ration D Bars rather than Hershey’s Bars. Hershey helped out on the family farm as a young boy. When he was in his 20s, he would accompany his father on business trips. He started his own candy company in 1876, but it failed within six years. Hershey moved to Denver. CO and worked with a confectioner, where he discovered the secret of making caramels…fresh milk.

Hershey Chocolate Factory.

Today, Milton Hershey’s mansion serves as the headquarters for Hershey Foods Corporation. Hershey is still the home of the world’s largest chocolate and cocoa manufacturing plant.